Tell Me
by Thecrazyrabidfangirl
Summary: An unexpected Striker malfunction propels Shirley on a journey that will uncover more than she could possibly imagine... Lucchini x Charlotte


**Summary: **An unexpected Striker malfunction propels Shirley on a journey that will uncover more than she could possibly imagine...

**Genre(s): **Romance/Drama/Action/Adventure

**Character(s): **F. Lucchini, Charlotte Y., Sakamoto M., Minna W.

**Pairing(s): **Lucchini x Charlotte

**Story Type: **One-shot

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Strike Witches

* * *

*** **_**Tell Me**_** ***

It was a sunny, average morning at the Strike Witch's base and the mess hall was abuzz with the normal morning mealtime chatter. Barkhorn was berating Hartmann over something as usual, with Hartmann half-listening. Sakamoto and Minna were quietly discussing future base projects and Eila was sitting happily, blushing in silent joy as Sanya was slumped against the pale blonde's shoulder, sleeping peacefully.

"Yoshika's cooking, Yoshika's cooking~" Lucchini chanted enthusiastically as she watched the young Fuso Witch prepare a banquet in the kitchen with the assistance of Lynette.

Charlotte smiled at the young Romagnian's spirit. "Be patient, Lucchini," she chided lightly with a smile. Lucchini stuck her tongue out playfully at Charlotte then giggled. At last, Yoshika finished cooking and, with the help of Lynette, brought trays upon trays of Fuso dishes out to the table.

"Enjoy the food, everyone!" Yoshika said cheerily as she and Lynette took their usual places next to each other at the table.

All the girls proceeded to eat, and once they were all finished, Charlotte stood and stretched her limbs, preparing for the day ahead. Lucchini hopped out of her chair and smiled up at Charlotte. The older girl headed off into the main corridor leading to the hangar with Lucchini right on her heels.

"I'm gonna go for Mach One again, Lucchini," Charlotte said with barely suppressed excitement as the two turned onto the corridor leading directly to the hangar.

"Really? I know you can do it, Shirley!" Lucchini replied happily.

"Well, last time it was your fault I didn't," Charlotte joked as she patted Lucchini on the head. Lucchini fake pouted for a moment before she dropped the act and her smile returned.

The pair entered the hangar and walked over to Charlotte's Strikers, which were prominently displayed in the center of the vast room. Charlotte knelt down at the base of her Striker mount and pressed the engine cover release, causing the metal covering the engines to pop open.

"Shirley!"

Charlotte stood back up and turned at Lucchini's call.

"Hmm-?" Charlotte began but was startled when suddenly Lucchini's head was buried in her big, soft bosom. Charlotte was startled for a moment, but not surprised. The young girl purred in happiness as she nuzzled Charlotte's chest and after a moment, she pulled back and gave Charlotte a broad smile. Then, with amazing agility, she leapt up to the steel support girder that she always slept on, and flopped down onto her blanket, immediately falling asleep.

Charlotte turned back to her Strikers, pulling her tool kit out of a compartment in the mount, and began tweaking the engines.

_'Lucchini sure is attached to me...'_ Charlotte thought with a small smile as she modulated the magic-defense magic-speed distribution valves. Charlotte deeply enjoyed the bond she shared with the young Witch. _'But...sometimes I wonder exactly how she feels,'_ Charlotte thought as a pang of doubt entered her heart.

She often had this internal discussion, waging a personal war over how she felt versus how she should properly act about the situation.

_'She's so young, does she really see me that way? Or is it a way to compensate for being torn away from her mother at such a young age?'_ Charlotte stopped in her mechanical work as worry washed over her.

She always wondered if Lucchini felt the same way as she did, but the doubt at the possible inappropriateness of making a move or simply misunderstanding the younger girl's actions kept her personal feelings at bay.

_'Well...I'm sure she'll tell me in time, if that's how she feels,'_ Charlotte resolved, her natural attitude unwilling to let herself stay down for long. A few hours passed until Charlotte was satisfied with her modifications.

_'Alright...now to test it out,'_ Charlotte thought as she pushed the engine covers back into place with a click. She walked behind the mount and ran up the stairs, jumping into the mechanical devices and letting the magical augmentation wash over her as her magical aura expanded across the floor. The magical rotors materialized and began spinning rapidly, faster than any of the other Strikers. The whirr of the Strikers was deafeningly loud in the confined space coupled with the reverberation effect. However, Lucchini simply woke up from instinctively knowing Charlotte was about to take off.

The black haired girl stretched and hopped back to the floor, crouching for a moment before rising up and walking over to Charlotte. The red head let her magic drain from the engines, cutting them off as the rotors disappeared.

"Sounds good, eh?" Charlotte asked proudly as she wiped thick, black grease from her hands.

"Sounds fast," Lucchini commented as she reached out to caress the metal of the Strikers in admiration. But, as her hand reached out, she quickly pulled it back, a grave look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked in confusion.

"S-Shirley...please don't go out today," Lucchini said as she looked up at Charlotte with worry evident in her voice and eyes.

"But it's a perfectly nice day, Lucchini, nothing's gonna happen," Charlotte replied comfortingly. Lucchini rushed over to Charlotte's side and grabbed her arm as she tried to unbuckle from the mount.

"Lucchini, wha-?" Charlotte began but stopped as she looked down into Lucchini's worried eyes.

"Please don't go, Shirley," Lucchini begged as her eyes shimmered with concern. Charlotte's mouth twisted into a worried frown.

'_Should I really go?'_ she wondered to herself. She thought for a moment then sighed and smiled comfortingly at the younger girl.

"I'll be fine, Lucchini. I'll come back, I promise," she said softly as the young Romagnian detached herself from the older girl.

"Alright, Shirley," she said quietly, her eyes downcast. Charlotte was concerned at Lucchini's sudden change in demeanor.

"C'mon, wanna watch me test it out?" Charlotte offered in an attempt to cheer Lucchini up. Lucchini did indeed brighten slightly.

"Alright," she said with a slight smile, though her concern was still evident. Lucchini ran over to the hangar bay door controls and pulled the master lever, causing the enormous hangar doors to groan and begin sliding open.

"Charlotte Yeager, taking off!" Charlotte called out as she powered her Strikers up and unbuckled from the mount. She took off out of the hangar as the doors finished opening, skating along the runway with Lucchini running out of the hangar behind her. She took off into the air as Lucchini waved up at her from below. Charlotte smiled and waved back as she began doing spins and twists in the air.

The red head sighed contentedly as she relaxed into her element, feeling the air whip her hair and uniform around. Charlotte doubled back and flew over the Witch's base, then turned again and hovered in mid-air as she prepared herself.

_'This is it...'_ she thought as she stared out ahead at the blue sky mixed with white fluffy clouds, the ocean far below. She revved her engines and shot from her position in a steady line, gradually picking up speed.

The clouds shot by in a blur as she continued to accelerate. She began to feel herself topping out as her Strikers rattled violently on her legs.

_'C'mon...c'mon!'_ she urged as she forced herself and her Strikers over their limit_. 'I know you can do this!'_ she told herself just as much as she told her Strikers. _'Go...go!'_ she mentally cried. Her Strikers suddenly revved violently then she felt herself accelerating and shot off with a bang, feeling as if she had broken through the air itself.

_'I...I did it!'_ Charlotte thought in excitement as she barrel rolled in the world of supersonic speed. The clouds and ocean were now passing by so fast that Charlotte's eyes could not keep up, making everything a giant blur.

Charlotte was so overjoyed that she did not feel the giant shudder that rippled through her Strikers, but she certainly felt the surge of magical energy that followed.

_'W-what's happening?'_ she thought in a panic as her Strikers sputtered magical sparks and vibrated violently. _'I have to stop!'_ she thought, yet she continued to accelerate against her will. Charlotte closed her eyes in concentration to get her Strikers to stop. When she opened her eyes, she gasped at what she saw.

A jagged black tear had formed on the inside of her protective supersonic barrier, running the entre length like a wicked scar.

_'What is this?'_ she thought as the tear began to widen, she could see nothing but darkness on the other side. Charlotte, through sheer force of will, brought her Strikers back under control and slammed on the brakes. Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut as she dramatically stopped, the force of the sudden stop sending her skidding through the air and into the black rip.

*** Strike Witches ***

Charlotte slowly blinked her eyes open and looked around. She was still hovering above the ocean; however, the area was completely dark.

_'When did it become night?'_ Charlotte wondered as she gazed up at the silvery orb in the sky. Rising smoke diverted Charlotte's attention down to her Strikers.

_'I guess I overdid it...'_ she thought, mentally sighing as she gazed down at her Strikers, smoke pouring from every crevice on the machines.

_'I should get back, Lucchini is likely worried about me,'_ Charlotte thought as she carefully turned in mid-air and began her slow and cautious journey back to the base, not wanting to rush it due to the state of her Strikers.

_'That's odd...'_ Charlotte thought as she approached the base. _'I guess it really is late, but how..?'_ she thought as she noted the lack of any lights on in the base. _'I should hurry before Minna finds out and chews me out then...'_ she hoped as she pushed her luck and sped up, softly landing on the runway and gliding back into the open hangar. She quickly docked with her Striker mount, the clamps groaning and creaking as they clamped down onto the magical machines.

_'I should really oil them up tomorrow,'_ Charlotte mentally noted as she hopped out of her Strikers and walked down the mount stairs then headed back into the base. Charlotte walked down the hallways, none of the lights were on and her only guide was the silvery moonlight shining in through the windows.

_'Huh...did something happen while I was gone?'_ Charlotte wondered as she passed by a blown out window and noticed a few missing stones from the ceiling and floor_. 'Well, the base isn't on high alert...training accident maybe?'_ she assumed_. 'Or probably Lucchini's doing,' _the red head mentally joked as she turned a corner and ran straight into a wall of rubble blocking her path.

"OK, something definitely isn't right here..." Charlotte said out loud as she pushed at the collapsed ceiling. She turned, now on high alert herself, and cautiously took an alternate route back to her room.

_'What could have happened..? I wasn't gone that long...'_ Charlotte thought as she observed more blown out windows, broken floors, and collapsed corridors.

"I hope everyone is alright..." Charlotte said to herself, Lucchini in particular passing through her thoughts, as she finally reached her destination. "What is this..?" she said in shock as she stared at the door to her room.

Withered security tape was strung haphazardly across the doorway, but underneath were boards, planks, and metal bars set in place against the door, barring any entrance.

"What the hell is going on?" Charlotte cried out in frustration. Charlotte started and spun as she heard a noise behind her.

"Who's there?" she called out to the darkness. Silence answered her until the sound of rubble shifting in the distance caught Charlotte's attention. "Show yourself!" she cried out, doing her best to suppress her fear and worry.

_'Could we have been attacked? Could the attackers still be here?'_ Charlotte wondered as she heard another shifting sound, but closer by. _'I...have to find the others!'_ she decided as she stood transfixed in her spot for a moment longer before forcing her legs to move.

She took off down the hallway in the opposite direction from the noise, pouring her magic into her speed. Her heart pounded in her ears as she navigated the corridors, having to use her memory as the moonlight provided little help. Charlotte's heart skipped when she distinctly heard the sound of movement behind her.

_'It's catching up to me?'_ she thought in panic. Charlotte realized where in the base she was and, just as she turned a corner, ducked through a cracked door and into Minna's office. She quickly closed the door and pressed herself against it, listening for the sound of her pursuer. Sure enough, she soon heard her chaser come by, pause, then keep going down the hallway.

Only when the sounds of movement were far off in the distance did Charlotte release the frightened breath she had been holding in.

_'Now I can find the others and...'_ Charlotte trailed off as she slowly turned and saw the state of the office.

It looked as if a hurricane had blown through, the desk was overturned, and the chair was smashed against the wall. Bookcases lay smashed against the floor, books torn to shreds, and various documents scattered out across the floor. Charlotte walked out into the chaos in a daze until a wind blew through the busted window and picked up a stray document, blowing it over towards Charlotte. Charlotte reached out and grabbed the paper, holding it up to the moonlight so she could read.

"N-no...what is this? Is this some kind of joke?" she cried out as her hand trembled and she released the document, letting it float down to the floor.

"No..." a voice sounded out behind Charlotte, causing the red head to jump and spin around. A figure stood in the open doorway.

"Who are you! What have you done to my friends!" Charlotte yelled angrily as the figure slowly advanced.

"I haven't done a thing..." the figure, clearly female, replied. Charlotte gulped as she prepared to fight the advancing figure.

"N-no way...is this some sick dream?" Charlotte said in shock as the figure came out into the moonlight.

"Have I changed that much? Don't you recognize me?" she asked flatly, though a tinge of hurt was in her voice.

"You...L-Lucchini..?" Charlotte stuttered as she dropped to her knees. "How can this be..?" she asked as she pressed her trembling hands against her face.

"Fifteen years..." Lucchini said blankly as she stood in front of Charlotte. Suddenly, Charlotte jumped back to her feet, tears in her eyes.

"But...how can it be 1959?" she cried as she gazed at the woman before her.

The woman that stood before her looked almost nothing like the Francesca Lucchini she remembered. She was tall, almost taller than Charlotte herself, and thin. Her frame was thinner than when she had been younger, and now it was stretched against her new height. Her uniform was ripped and torn in several hair was cut short, and her skin was paler than it should be. Lucchini seemed unphased by Charlotte's outburst.

"You...disappeared..." she said slowly, her deeper voice sounding harsher to Charlotte's ears, as she stared back into the Liberion's eyes. "Fifteen years ago..."

"But...how?" Charlotte asked as the reality of the situation began to set in. Lucchini moved from her spot and began to slowly pace the room.

"We never figured out why, or how, we only accepted that the last time we saw you was that day..." Lucchini explained passively. "When I told everybody what you went out to do, we still couldn't figure out what had happened," she continued. "But, five years after you disappeared, some physicists theorized that somehow your magical field had been corrupted by a modulator in the Strikers and tore a hole in time," Lucchini finished casually as she stopped pacing and stared at Charlotte with a serious expression.

"That's why the Jet Strikers were equipped with an inhibitor that stopped them from exceeding Mach One," she said.

"Jet Strikers..?" Charlotte asked in a confused daze as she took everything in.

"Yes, the technology was perfected eight years ago, they became standard until..." Lucchini trailed off for a moment as she seemed to space out. After a second, she snapped out of her daze and looked back at Charlotte. "But...their theory was all we had...but I always knew you'd come back...someday," she said, emotion and hurt seeping into the deadpan of her voice, causing her to sound vulnerable for a moment.

"B-but...what happened? Fifteen years..." Charlotte asked softly, muttering the last part to herself in disbelief. Lucchini's head dropped and she sighed.

"It all began ten years ago, the Neuroi, they...the humanoid Neuroi that Yoshika discovered was just a prototype for a new type of Neuroi, smaller, harder to kill..." Lucchini explained as the blank tone returned.

"...We didn't stand a chance..." she said as the pain of the memories played on her features for a moment before vanishing.

"Do you mean..?" Charlotte asked as dread washed over her. Lucchini simply nodded.

"Yoshika was the first...they used her trust in the humanoid Neuroi," Lucchini replied.

"The rest of us were either killed or captured...I'm the only one left..." she said softly. The entire reality of the situation smashed down on Charlotte and she was unable to keep the tears back. She slowly raised her hands to her face and sobbed as thoughts raced through her mind.

_'W-what am I going to do now..?'_ she thought. Charlotte started as she felt Lucchini lay a hand on her shoulder. She looked at the older girl through her tears.

"What are we going to do then..?" Charlotte asked, despair clear in her voice.

"I'm going to send you back," Lucchini said simply.

"Send me back? How?" Charlotte asked as she dried her eyes on her sleeve.

"When the theory was accepted that something went wrong with your Strikers, I asked Minna to make me head of the department that developed the inhibitors. But really, I was developing a Striker module that would replicate the effect and send me back..." she explained.

"However, I never finished it, and before I could, the Neuroi took over the research facility. They use it now for their...'experiments'..." Lucchini physically shuddered when she said the last part. Charlotte's stomach turned as she got the general idea.

Lucchini released Charlotte's shoulder and turned towards the doorway.

"Let's go," she said simply as she went through the doorway, Charlotte right behind her.

"What..._exactly_ happened here?" Charlotte asked out of sheer curiosity as she and Lucchini made their way to the hangar.

"It took them three years to pick us off, about two or three every year..." Lucchini said, sadness buried under the oddly cold indifference in her voice, though she obviously tried to hide it.

"Eila died trying to save Sanya, and Barkhorn and Erica died together fending the base off," she continued. "In the last year, Sakamoto became the commanding officer of the 501st, but by then the military high command was in tatters, so it didn't make much difference anyway."

_'She's talking so casually, yet she's obviously repressing the emotion...what happened to her in all this time?'_ Charlotte observed as she frowned. As the two came out into the hangar, Charlotte noticed things she had not before.

In the corner was a pile of rusting Strikers. She could make out the models of the other Witches' Strikers in the pile. Pressed up against the back of the hangar were a few mounts with Jet Strikers mounted on them.

Lucchini walked over to a pair of Jet Strikers with the Romagnian emblem. She ran up the mount and hopped into them, a strong magical aura blooming beneath them as they fired up.

"It'll be faster if you ride with me," Lucchini said as she offered her hand out to Charlotte. Charlotte walked over and clasped Lucchini's hand, immediately being pulled up into the Romagnian's arms. The Jet Strikers roared with power as Lucchini unbuckled from the mount and sped down the runway, quickly taking off into the sky. Charlotte relaxed into Lucchini's arms as the older girl held her securely. She could feel a protective desire beneath the subtle strength of the girl's thin frame.

_'Is this really Lucchini?'_ Charlotte wondered as she gazed up into the girl's eyes, set ominously against the nighttime clouds._ 'She's a totally different person...she's colder...yet full of pain...'_ she thought as she noted the expression of singular purpose on the Romagnian's face. _'Did my disappearance really have such an effect on her..?'_

"We'll be there soon..." Lucchini said detachedly as she poured a burst of energy into the Jet Strikers, breaking Charlotte from her thoughts. With the speed of a Jet Striker, it did not take the two Witches long to reach the outskirts of the former Witch Research Facility based out of Karlsland.

*** Strike Witches ***

From the sky, Charlotte observed the former Karlslandian Research Facility. She had been there a few times in the 'past', but now she could see how the Neuroi had taken control of it. A high wall surrounded the facility, with searchlight towers on every corner, keeping a constant vigil on all the surroundings. Charlotte could barely make out several humanoid shapes patrolling the walls.

_'Must be the Neuroi...'_ she assumed. Lucchini scouted for a suitable area to land and soon found a clearing in a small forest.

"We should hurry, they'll know we're here soon," Lucchini warned as she landed and disengaged her Strikers.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Charlotte asked. After accepting that her situation was not a demented dream, she was ready and willing to do whatever it took to return to her own time. Lucchini looked contemplative for a moment before speaking.

"As I said, they'll know we're here soon enough..." she repeated. "So, assuming the layout is still the same, and providing they haven't destroyed my work..." she continued, sounding painfully blank and cold for Charlotte's ears to hear from the girl she knew as spunky and full of life.

"We should be able to half-sneak, half-blow our way in and make it out fast enough..." Charlotte simply nodded in understanding.

"Got it," she said.

"Alright, let's go," Lucchini said as she broke into a run, disappearing into the forest. Charlotte sped off after her, having to use her magic to keep up.

_'How is she this fast now? Is it an evolution of her magic?'_ Charlotte wondered as Lucchini's agility matched her speed and she leapt through the forest like the panther she drew her magic from.

The girls quickly arrived at the outskirts of the Neuroi Facility and hid below the tree line.

"Why do they have searchlights...or defenses at all?" Charlotte whispered curiously.

"Mostly a show of force. There are still a few Witches left besides me," Lucchini replied passively. "But, most of the Fighter Wings were massacred or captured," she continued. Charlotte's features fell at this grim future.

_'How could all of this have happened..?'_ she thought sadly.

"Alright, now's our chance," Lucchini said as she dashed from the tree line. Charlotte quickly followed until they hit the outer defense wall.

"How're we gonna get through-?" Charlotte began but Lucchini's next action cut her off. Lucchini raised her hand, palm exposed, fingers pulled back, and slammed it against the metal wall. A few seconds later, a bright blue light plumed from her palm and pushed the metal inwards, spreading it out.

_'She's developed her Sunlight Strike to this extent?'_ Charlotte thought in awe at the power Lucchini had gained. _'But...what if we run into combat? She's past the age for an effective shield...'_ Charlotte's stomach clenched as she thought of losing Lucchini in this bleak reality.

"Alright, we're through," Lucchini said, drawing Charlotte from her thoughts to see that there was a hole large enough for them to crawl through to the other side. Lucchini went first, followed shortly by Charlotte. Lucchini quickly scanned the area once on the other side, searching for any patrolling Neuroi. When she was satisfied that none were in the immediate area, she dashed for the facility.

Charlotte looked around herself, a nauseas feeling washing over her as she thought of what would happen to Lucchini and herself if the Neuroi captured them. By the time Charlotte reached Lucchini, the Romagnian had already tunneled a crawl space into the building and was half-way through. Charlotte crawled in after her and tumbled out onto a sterile white floor.

"We're close by, c'mon," Lucchini said blankly as Charlotte hopped to her feet and jogged after the girl. Lucchini stopped at an intersection and looked down the other three corridors, searching for any signs of the Neuroi. Lucchini motioned for Charlotte to follow her and headed down a corridor, turning when the hallway curved to the left.

Charlotte was surprised when Lucchini suddenly came to a dead stop and seemed to stay perfectly still.

"Lucchini..?" Charlotte asked worriedly. Lucchini turned and stared directly into Charlotte's eyes with an intensity that startled the Liberion.

"Charlotte..." Lucchini said slowly. Charlotte was perplexed, noticing now that this was the first time Lucchini had said her name, and not used her usual nickname.

"...Whatever you may see, whatever you may hear, remember what we're here for," Lucchini said ominously. Charlotte nodded slowly then continued to follow Lucchini as the older girl resumed her trek down the hallway.

It did not take Charlotte long to figure out what Lucchini meant as the two entered a different area of the research facility. Charlotte began to hear noises and looked around the corridors curiously, unable to make out the noises. Charlotte's stomach dropped as the pair neared another hallway junction and the noises became clearer. She could make out the sound of electric tools, saws and electricity, and the screams and cries of girls.

In the junction, one passage was clearly an open doorway leading to a room as Charlotte could see shadows and bright flashes of electrical light coming from the room. Lucchini acted as if she had not heard or seen anything as she walked past the open doorway. However, Charlotte could not ignore the screaming and, as she passed by the doorway, looked inside.

Charlotte sucked in a frightened breath as she began to shake violently and her pupils constricted. Inside the room, lined up against the back wall, were tanks filled with a blue liquid. Inside the tanks, hooked up to various cables and wires, were Witches. Charlotte did not recognize any of them except...

_'M-Minna..?'_ Charlotte shakily thought as she saw the aged and atrophied body of Minna floating in one of the tanks. Charlotte's head jerked as another piercing scream hit her ears, louder now that she was at the doorway. She could not directly see anything, but she saw the shadowy outline of a body seizing, and the outline of a humanoid Neuroi standing over the jerking form.

Charlotte was paralyzed with fear until she felt a grip on her arm and tried to jerk away, a scream of terror escaping her lips that was drowned out by another shriek from the tortured Witch. Charlotte was slammed against the wall next to the doorway and cried out again until she felt a strike across her face.

Charlotte snapped out of her frightened state, her pupils returning to a normal size as she stared straight into Lucchini's stern face.

"W-w-we have to...save them!" Charlotte protested shakily as she tried to push Lucchini off. Lucchini slammed Charlotte back against the wall as a mix of anger and sorrow flashed across the Romagnian's face.

"Do you remember what we came here for?" she yelled in Charlotte's face. "If I can send you back, none of this will have happened!" she cried as she pointed towards the room angrily. "Nobody will have had to suffer!"

Charlotte hung her head, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, she knew Lucchini was right.

"I'm sorry..." she said softly as tears slid down her cheeks. Lucchini backed away and turned back down the hallway.

"Let's go, then-" she said but the sound of a klaxon alarm sounding off muffled her words. Both girls looked around as red alarm lights flashed in the hallway. Both girls' heads jerked as they heard the sound of Neuroi shrieks off in the distance.

"Move, now!" Lucchini cried over the alarm and took off down the hallway. Charlotte forced herself to move, feeling almost a physical pain at leaving her fellow Witches behind.

_'But if I make it out of this...none of this will have happened...'_ she told herself as she strained to keep up with Lucchini's weaving through corridors and passageways.

"It's here!" Lucchini cried out as the pair arrived at a single door hallway. Lucchini did not stop running and instead jumped at the door, kicking it down. The inside of the room looked vastly different from the rest of the complex; the Neuroi obviously had not renovated it yet.

"There!" Lucchini said as she pointed to a glass display case. Inside was a tiny Striker Unit module. Lucchini rushed over and busted the glass with her bare hand, reaching in and grabbing the module and quickly pocketing it.

"We have to leave, now!" Lucchini yelled back at Charlotte. The pair dashed out of the room, weaving back through corridors the way they came. Charlotte could hear the shrieks of the Neuroi pursuing them as the two neared the corridor they entered from.

As the two turned the corner leading to their exit corridor, they both skidded to a stop as a humanoid Neuroi loomed over them, shrieking out.

"Damn!" Lucchini cried out. "Charlotte! Go! I'll hold it off!" she yelled back as she dashed forward and leapt into the air, kicking out at the Neuroi.

"But...Lucchini!" Charlotte protested.

"Go!" Lucchini yelled out angrily as the Neuroi shrieked in annoyance. Charlotte forced herself to move, slipping by the Neuroi in the corridor and quickly crawling through the entrance tunnel.

"Lucchini!" Charlotte yelled back down the tunnel once she was safely outside. Charlotte heard muffled Neuroi shrieks, then a few blazes of red light on the other side of the tunnel before nothing but silence. "Lucchini..?" Charlotte yelled down the tunnel again, her voice nearly cracking as tears welled in her eyes. Charlotte jumped back in surprise as Lucchini came tumbling out of the crawlspace, panting and gasping as she held her side, blood staining her uniform.

"Lucchini!" Charlotte cried as she quickly knelt at the Romagnian's side.

"I'm alright, we gotta move!" Lucchini coughed out as she got to her feet as quickly as she could. The exterior alarm began to blare as the searchlights turned inwards, Neuroi beginning to crowd the walls and surrounding area. Charlotte helped Lucchini up they ran for the wall. They crawled through, then made a made dash towards the forest as the alarm sounded behind them and Neuroi beams shot out at them, striking behind them or scarring the ground beside them.

Blood pounded in Charlotte's ears as she gasped and panted, her lungs and throat burning from exertion as she ran back through the forest. Lucchini did her best to keep up, but she was gradually lagging behind. Finally, the two made it back to the clearing where the Jet Striker was standing in wait.

"I'll fly us back," Charlotte said quickly as she prepared to jump into the Jet Strikers. Lucchini rushed to stop Charlotte just as she was about to climb in.

"No, you can't," Lucchini panted out as she began to climb into the Strikers herself. "Magic imprint locks. They'd blow your legs off..." she said as she gulped to clear her dry throat. Charlotte laughed nervously for a moment as the thought of her legs getting fried ran through her mind before Lucchini hoisted her up into her arms and fired up the engines.

The pair shot up straight into the sky, the searchlights of the Neuroi Research Facility still scanning the area and the alarm blaring loudly below. Lucchini shot off in the direction of the former Strike Witches base.

*** Strike Witches ***

By the time the two landed and docked in the ruins of the once glorious structure, the sun was just peaking over the horizon.

"It's been a long night...maybe we should rest?" Charlotte suggested. Lucchini walked straight past Charlotte towards the base interior, her gaze focused as if on a singular mission.

"No time, they'll find us," Lucchini said as Charlotte jogged to catch up. "They...didn't know I was still here..." Lucchini said slowly.

"What?" Charlotte burst out. "But...what will you do when I'm gone?" she asked worriedly.

"It won't matter, I won't exist anymore," she replied callously which shocked Charlotte into silence.

Charlotte followed Lucchini through a maze of corridors until they came into the old briefing room, which she could see had been converted into a makeshift laboratory with various pieces of technology and equipment lying around on tables.

"This won't take long," Lucchini said as she sat on a stool and began tinkering with the time module. Charlotte sat on a nearby stool and watched as Lucchini worked.

_'Could she really not care about her existence anymore..?'_ Charlotte thought worriedly as she watched Lucchini work, her expression hard and focused. Charlotte also noted that Lucchini's wound had finally clotted, though there was still a sizeable blood stain on her uniform.

"Done," Lucchini called out as she stood from the stool with the module cradled in her palms. Charlotte hopped up and walked over to Lucchini, who was panting lightly and sweating.

"Are you going to be alright..?" Charlotte asked in concern.

"I told you, it won't matter," Lucchini repeated coldly as she held the module out for Charlotte to take.

"No! It matters, Lucchini!" Charlotte cried. Lucchini looked taken aback for a moment before her hard visage returned.

"When you return to your time, with all you know now, this future won't exist anymore," she explained. "...this version of me won't exist anymore."

"What happened to you, Lucchini? Where's the Lucchini I know!" Charlotte cried out again, her voice choked with emotion. Lucchini looked down for a moment as her hardened features broke and tears welled up in her eyes.

"You disappeared..." she said, her voice sounding different, younger and warmer. "You left me, Shirley!" she said as she looked back into Charlotte's eyes. "You promised you'd come back!"

It was Charlotte's turn to be taken aback now as she gaped at Lucchini's sudden change.

"I didn't mean to...I didn't know this would happen!" Charlotte cried back as her eyes shimmered with tears.

"I know that..." Lucchini said softly. "All I wanted was the chance to tell you-!"

Lucchini's words were cut off as a nearby wall exploded, sending dust and debris up in a cloud. A shriek broke the shock as a humanoid Neuroi broke through the dust cloud and raised its arm, a beam charging. Lucchini shoved the module into Charlotte's hands and grabbed her by the arm, rushing towards the door as the Neuroi beam shot out, carving through tables and technical equipment and blowing out the far wall. The two girls fell out into the hallway and began sprinting just as another beam tore through the doorway, rending stone from stone.

Charlotte and Lucchini sprinted down the corridors, winding back through the maze of collapsed hallways until they were at the hangar entrance again. Lucchini looked around the hallway frantically until she spotted a particular stone in the wall. She went over and smashed the stone with the side of her fist; surprisingly the stone gave and slid inwards. A panel of stone on the wall separated, revealing a hidden compartment with rifles lined up on a rack. Lucchini took a rifle and threw the strap over her shoulder. She then went over to Charlotte and clapped her hands on her shoulders.

"You should know how to install it, it's a simple module, then, simply break Mach One again and it will replicate the effect that threw you here in the first place," Lucchini explained her cold tone back. "And, take this," she said as she removed her right hand and slipped it beneath her uniform, pulling out a crumpled, leather bound journal. "With this, you'll be able to entirely stop this from happening..." she said as she shoved the journal into Charlotte's arms.

Charlotte held the journal up and read the cover:

_'The Journal of Lieutenant-Colonel Mio Sakamoto' _

"B-but..." Charlotte protested. "What were you about to say back there..?"

"We don't have time, Charlotte," Lucchini said.

"This is the last time I'll ever see you!" Charlotte protested again. Lucchini sighed as her visage broke once again.

"I never got to tell you...how I've always felt about you," Lucchini said softly. Lucchini stared into Charlotte's eyes for a moment as her eyes shimmered with pent up emotion. Then, before Charlotte realized what was happening, Lucchini leaned in and pressed her lips against hers. She gave a muffled cried of surprise, but before it had begun, the kiss ended.

Lucchini pulled back and looked into Charlotte's eyes again as the red head blushed lightly, her mouth agape in shock.

"You...you have to tell me, when you go back," Lucchini pleaded softly. "Tell me..." she repeated. Charlotte could see the meaning behind her words through the emotion in her eyes and nodded, conflicted by happiness, sorrow, and fear at their situation.

A piercing shriek sounded behind them and both girls looked back to see the Neuroi had caught up with them. Lucchini quickly looked back at Charlotte resolutely and shoved her into the hangar. Charlotte stumbled for a moment before picking herself back up and looked back at Lucchini. Lucchini nodded at her and turned, opening fire at the Neuroi.

Charlotte gazed at Lucchini for a moment longer before turning and running to her Strikers. She quickly popped open the engine panel and pressed the module into an open engine slot, the sound of gunfire ringing around the hangar in the background. The engines sputtered to life as they accepted the modification. Charlotte slammed the panel shut, stuffed the journal under her uniform, and ran around to the mount stairs, running up and jumping into her Strikers. The blue magical aura expanded below her as her ears and tail appeared.

Lucchini looked back at Charlotte as the sound of her engines revving drowned out the gunfire. The two girls shared a long look before a Neuroi beam struck the doorway.

"No!" Charlotte cried out as the doorway began to collapse. Lucchini looked out at Charlotte as the doorway slowly crumbled.

"Tell me!" Lucchini yelled out as she slowly smiled and a look of peaceful serenity spread over her features before the entrance completely collapsed.

"Lucchini!" Charlotte cried out as she nearly jumped out of her Strikers to run to her. However, she was brought back to the situation at hand as two new shrieks sounded outside the hangar as two more humanoid Neuroi came into view. Charlotte gritted her teeth as she unbuckled from the Striker mount and revved her engines, shooting out along the runway past the Neuroi and lifting into the sky.

Charlotte wasted no time in pouring all of her magic into her Strikers, pushing the abused machines far past their limit once again.

_'C'mon!'_ she mentally begged as the magical devices rattled violently, having remembered the previous attempt at this. Her Strikers sputtered loudly as she began to feel herself losing power.

_'No! No!'_ she mentally cried as she began to slow and descend. _'It can't end here...'_ An image of Lucchini's smiling face flashed through her mind as the older girl's voice echoed in her mind.

_'Tell me...Tell me...Tell me!_'

Charlotte yelled to the sky as she used her emotions to augment her magic and threw it all at her Strikers. The machines sputtered then revved loudly, sparks flying and a fuse blowing as the engine panels blew off. She shot forward, breaking through the barrier of sound as her magic enveloped her and shielded her from the world of Mach One.

She did not have to wait for the module to work. As soon as she broke Mach One, she felt a surge from her Strikers. Black energies surged and crackled around her Strikers and shot out in a circular pattern into the magical shielding surrounding her, causing it to blacken. A rip in time formed in front of her amazed eyes and she knew what she had to do. She slammed on her brakes and went skidding through the air and through the black tear, disappearing in a flash.

*** Strike Witches ***

Charlotte tore back into reality, almost etching a flaming trail in the sky. She looked around for a moment and saw bright blue sky around her, and below her, the welcoming site of the Strike Witches base.

_'I...I did it!'_ she thought in excitement until a violent shudder ran through her Strikers and the rotor pieces blew off. Charlotte instantly began to plummet towards the base, the runway strip just below her. She fell like a rock, the wind whipping her red locks around her face.

_'Gotta time this just right!'_ she thought as a plan came to her. She disengaged her Strikers and watched sadly as they drifted away from her in free fall. Then, she flayed her limbs out to slow her descent. _'...Now!'_

Just as she was about to smash into the runway, she threw out the strongest shield she could muster. The shield hit the ground first, cratering the ground as her shield absorbed the impact, jarring her violently and causing her to bounce up slightly. Her shield shattered as she hit the ground a second time, though she only took the force of impact from five feet. She rolled out along the ground as her Strikers smashed caught up with her and smashed into the runway, blowing into pieces.

When Charlotte came to a stop she groaned from the minor scrapes she had received, but was glad to be alive.

"Shirley!" Lucchini cried as she rushed over to the red head and knelt down next to the fallen girl.

"Lucchini?" Charlotte quickly sat up and embraced Lucchini. "You're alive?" she cried as she sobbed onto the Romagnian's shoulder.

"Of...of course I'm alive," Lucchini replied in confusion as Charlotte leaned back.

"That's right...I'm back..." Charlotte said slowly as she smiled and hugged Lucchini even tighter.

"Shirley? What's wrong?" Lucchini asked, her voice clearly showing her worry. Suddenly, Charlotte jumped to her feet, pulling the crumpled journal from beneath her uniform.

"I have to see Minna, right now!" Charlotte said with focused determination on her face as she rushed past Lucchini and into the base.

"Shirley! Wait!" Lucchini cried after her.

*** Strike Witches ***

"How can this be..?" Minna asked, more to herself, as she stared at the open journal. Sakamoto stood by Minna, scanning the pages, her face a mixture of shock and commanding calm.

"It's my handwriting..." Sakamoto said, almost as if it needed anymore verification.

"Then what you just told us...it's all true then?" Minna asked. Charlotte, who was standing in front of Minna's desk with Lucchini standing next to her, nodded seriously.

"1959? Humanoid Neuroi? Witch 'experiments'..?" Minna said slowly as a tremor of fear ran through her voice. "And...you said Lucchini-san helped you?"

Charlotte simply nodded again. Lucchini looked slightly pale as she had heard what Charlotte had to say, though the Liberion had omitted many dark and personal details about the Romagnian's future self.

"She said that with this journal, we can prevent it all from happening," Charlotte said. Minna casually flipped through more pages until she stopped and stared intently at the journal.

"These are...blueprints," she said in amazement. Sakamoto perked up and grabbed the journal, examining the pages closely.

"These are blueprints for a perfected Jet Striker! This wasn't projected to be finished for another eight years!" Sakamoto said in shock. "With these, we can end this war before these 'Humanoid Neuroi' are ever perfected!" she continued. "I'll send these to the Karlslandian Research Facility immediately."

Charlotte seemed to flinch at the mention of the facility that she had just been at but a mere few hours ago to her.

"If you don't mind...Commander Minna...I'd like to go back to my room now," Charlotte said as the weight of her journey hit her all at once.

"Yes, you are relieved of all duties, Captain Shirley. We need to get this information to the top brass at once," she said as she looked to Sakamoto who nodded sagely. Charlotte let her shoulders slump as she left the room, leaving a very shocked Lucchini in her wake.

Charlotte entered her room and slumped against the door for a moment before staggering over and falling onto her bed. Just as she was about to doze off, she heard a knock at her door.

"Yes..?" she called out exhaustedly as she turned over and sat up. The door slowly cracked open and Lucchini came in.

"Hey, Shirley..." she said softly.

"Lucchini," Charlotte said as a smile broke over her face. She patted a spot next to her on her bed and Lucchini came over and sat down next to her.

"You really went into the future..? And met...'me'?" Lucchini asked softly.

"Yes, I did," Charlotte confirmed as her smile grew at being with the Lucchini she knew again.

"What was I like?" Lucchini asked curiously. Charlotte thought for a moment.

_'I can't tell her how she really was...it'd be too much,'_ Charlotte thought.

"Well, you were almost taller than me and you were really lively and never lost your happy and optimistic attitude throughout everything," Charlotte lied, though she felt better about it when Lucchini perked up and smiled.

"I was tall? I mean...I'm going to be tall?" she asked happily.

"Yep," Charlotte replied with a grin. Lucchini grinned and giggled as well, which soothed Charlotte's battered mind and body.

_'Tell me!' _

Charlotte started when Lucchini's older voice rung through her mind. Though, Lucchini had not noticed her jerk, allowing Charlotte to simply stare at the younger girl's happy grin.

"Lucchini," Charlotte said to get the younger girl's attention. "Everything that happened to me...it made me really start to think, to think about what matters a lot to me..." Charlotte began as she reached out and stroked Lucchini's hair. "...It made me think about you."

Lucchini gasped softly as she looked up into Charlotte's eyes and smiling face, a blush growing on her own.

"S-Shirley..." the young Romagnian stuttered softly. Charlotte moved from stroking the younger girl's hair to gently caressing her cheek with the back of her fingers.

"How you always act with me...I always wondered how you felt, did you love me..? Or was it just something innocent and I was jumping the gun?" Charlotte explained. "But...what I went through made me think and I realized that you...do love me," Charlotte said to the awe-struck girl. "And, I love you too."

Charlotte slowly leaned down and pressed her lips against the younger girl's. When Lucchini snapped out of her daze, she eagerly kissed back, her joy and excitement crystal clear through her reaction. When the pair parted, Lucchini was grinning ear-to-ear.

"Shirley, I do love you!" she cried as she leapt forward, knocking the laughing red head over before stealing another kiss.

"Stay with me forever, Shirley," Lucchini begged quietly as she lay atop the Liberion, her head pleasantly nestled between the red head's cleavage. Charlotte stroked the lively girl's hair, eliciting a soft purr of contentedness as she rested her chin against the Romagnian's head.

"Forever."

**END**

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**Author's Commentary: **What an adventure, eh? I hope you all enjoyed reading! All feedback is happily welcomed!


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